Apparatus and method for web-enabled transaction completion

ABSTRACT

A method for handing off a transaction for completion is provided, the method including: via a point-of-sale terminal, receiving a transaction token that corresponds to the transaction, the transaction token having been transmitted over the internet cloud through a gateway device that is collocated with the point-of-sale terminal, and presenting the transaction token for acceptance by a guest device; and receiving a notification that the transaction is complete, the notification having been transmitted over the internet cloud through the gateway device; where, upon acceptance of the transaction token by the guest device, the guest device launches a web browser that is employed to receive details of the transaction for display on the guest device and to enable entry and transmission of transaction completion details by a guest on the guest device, and to receive notice that the transaction is complete.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the following co-pending U.S. PatentApplications, each of which has a common assignee and common inventors,the entireties of which are herein incorporated by reference.

SERIAL FILING NUMBER DATE TITLE 16/731,752 Dec. 31, 2019 APPARATUS ANDMETHOD FOR IMPROVED PAYMENT EXPERIENCE 16/731,799 Dec. 31, 2019 SYSTEMFOR RESOLVING POOR PATRON EXPERIENCE 16/731,827 Dec. 31, 2019 VIRTUALGUEST FACING DISPLAY 16/731,845 Dec. 31, 2019 APPARATUS AND METHOD FORTRANSACTION COMPLETION 16/731,898 Dec. 31, 2019 APPARATUS AND METHOD FORTRANSACTION HANDOFF AND COMPLETION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to the field of retail operations, andmore specifically to methods and apparatus for improved transactionprocessing.

Description of the Related Art

It is rare these days to walk into a retail store or restaurant that hasa manually operated cash register along with manual (i.e., paper andpencil) order entry. Rather, it is more common to find one or moreelectronic point-of-sale terminals through which a patron may ordergoods and/or services. Whether the terminals are employed in a fixedposition (such as a self-serve or attended kiosk) or hand carried bywait staff, the advantages over prior manual entry mechanisms arepronounced and include more accurate presentation of goods and services,accurate and up to date pricing, automated transmission of orders forfulfillment, and automated payment processing.

Yet, as one skilled in the art will appreciate, it is often the paymentstep of a transaction that becomes a service bottleneck, and thisdisclosure is provided to address several limitations of present-daypayment techniques which are most notably associated with the use ofelectronic devices for payment processing. Whereas in the past, waitstaff would provide a printed ticket to a guest and would leave theguest in solitude to judge the service, indicate a tip amount, providecomments (if any), sign the check, and leave, such solitude is notprovided for when electronic devices are employed for transactionprocessing. Rather, a staff member presents the electronic device to theguest and then waits for the guest to enter a tip amount, feedback, andelectronic signature on the device before returning it to the staffmember. As one skilled in the art will also appreciate, such hoveringabout the service area is both awkward at best and does not provide anatmosphere that is conducive of productive feedback.

Another issue with the transfer of electronic devices to guests iscleanliness. While a guest might not mind passing a credit card to astaff member for payment, they may be very disinclined to handle adevice that may have been handled by, say, fifty previous guests.

Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus that enables a guestto complete a transaction in a retail establishment that does notrequire the guest to handle or manipulate an electronic point-of-saleterminal.

What is also needed is a technique for handing off completion of atransaction from a point-of-sale terminal to a smart device that belongsto a guest who initiated a corresponding order.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, among other applications, is directed to solvingthe above-noted problems and addresses other problems, disadvantages,and limitations of the prior art by providing a superior technique formanaging payments for goods and services in a retail establishment. Inone embodiment, a method for handing off a transaction for completion isprovided, the method including: via a point-of-sale terminal, receivinga transaction token that corresponds to the transaction, the transactiontoken having been transmitted over the internet cloud through a gatewaydevice that is collocated with the point-of-sale terminal, andpresenting the transaction token for acceptance by a guest device; andreceiving a notification that the transaction is complete, thenotification having been transmitted over the internet cloud through thegateway device; where, upon acceptance of the transaction token by theguest device, the guest device launches a web browser that is employedto receive details of the transaction for display on the guest deviceand to enable entry and transmission of transaction completion detailsby a guest on the guest device, and to receive notice that thetransaction is complete.

One aspect of the present invention contemplates a computer-readablestorage medium storing program instructions that, when executed by acomputer, cause the computer to perform method for handing off atransaction for completion, the method including: via a point-of-saleterminal, receiving a transaction token that corresponds to thetransaction, the transaction token having been transmitted over theInternet cloud through a gateway device that is collocated with thepoint-of-sale terminal, and presenting the transaction token foracceptance by a guest device; and receiving a notification that thetransaction is complete, the notification having been transmitted overthe Internet cloud through the gateway device; where, upon acceptance ofthe transaction token by the guest device, the guest device launches aweb browser that is employed to receive details of the transaction fordisplay on the guest device and to enable entry and transmission oftransaction completion details by a guest on the guest device, and toreceive notice that the transaction is complete.

Another aspect of the present invention comprehends a system for handingoff a transaction for completion, the system having a point-of-saleterminal and a web browser disposed within a memory of a guest device.The point-of-sale terminal is configured to receive a transaction tokenthat corresponds to the transaction, the transaction token having beentransmitted over the Internet cloud through a gateway device that iscollocated with the point-of-sale terminal, and is configured to presentthe transaction token for acceptance by a guest device, and isconfigured to receive a notification that the transaction is complete,the notification having been transmitted over the Internet cloud throughthe gateway device. The web browser is launched upon acceptance of thetransaction token by the guest device, and is configured to receivedetails of the transaction for display on the guest device, and isconfigured to enable entry and transmission of transaction completiondetails by a guest on the guest device, and is configured to receivenotice that the transaction is complete.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a transaction handoff andprocessing system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a backend server according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram featuring a point-of-sale terminal accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an exemplary handoff display on apoint-of-sale terminal;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary feedback action display ona point-of-sale terminal according to the present invention that isconfigured for management access;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram detailing a method for handoff of a transactionfrom a point-of-sale terminal to a guest device, where the handoff istriggered upon entry of credit card payment data;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram detailing a method for handoff of a transactionfrom a point-of-sale terminal to a guest device, where the handoff istriggered upon acceptance of a payment token by the guest device;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram detailing another method for handoff of atransaction from a point-of-sale terminal to a guest device, where thehandoff is triggered upon acceptance of a payment token by the guestdevice; and

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram detailing a browser-based method for handoff ofa transaction from a point-of-sale terminal to a guest device, where thehandoff is triggered upon acceptance of a payment token by the guestdevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary and illustrative embodiments of the invention are describedbelow. It should be understood at the outset that, although exemplaryembodiments are illustrated in the figures and described below, theprinciples of the present disclosure may be implemented using any numberof techniques, whether currently known or not. In the interest ofclarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described inthis specification, for those skilled in the art will appreciate that inthe development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementationspecific decisions are made to achieve specific goals, such ascompliance with system-related and business-related constraints, whichvary from one implementation to another. Furthermore, it will beappreciated that such a development effort might be complex andtime-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking forthose of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of thisdisclosure. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment will beapparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodimentsshown and described herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features herein disclosed.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theattached figures. Various structures, systems, and devices areschematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation onlyand so as to not obscure the present invention with details that arewell known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attacheddrawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples ofthe present invention. Unless otherwise specifically noted, articlesdepicted in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The words and phrases used herein should be understood and interpretedto have a meaning consistent with the understanding of those words andphrases by those skilled in the relevant art. No special definition of aterm or phrase (i.e., a definition that is different from the ordinaryand customary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art) isintended to be implied by consistent usage of the term or phrase herein.To the extent that a term or phrase is intended to have a specialmeaning (i.e., a meaning other than that understood by skilled artisans)such a special definition will be expressly set forth in thespecification in a definitional manner that directly and unequivocallyprovides the special definition for the term or phrase. As used in thisdisclosure, “each” refers to each member of a set, each member of asubset, each member of a group, each member of a portion, each member ofa part, etc.

Applicants note that unless the words “means for” or “step for” areexplicitly used in a particular claim, it is not intended that any ofthe appended claims or claim elements are recited in such a manner as toinvoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).

Definitions

Central Processing Unit (CPU): The electronic circuits (i.e.,“hardware”) that execute the instructions of a computer program (alsoknown as a “computer application,” “application,” “application program,”“app,” “computer code,” “code process,” or “program”) by performingoperations on data that may include arithmetic operations, logicaloperations, and input/output operations. A CPU may also be referred toas a processor

In view of the above background discussion on how transactions arecurrently processed by electronic point of sale terminals within aretail establishment, a discussion of the present invention will beprovided with reference to FIGS. 1-9. The present invention overcomesthe problems associated with present-day techniques by providing methodsand apparatus whereby retail establishment staff may perform a handoffof a current transaction from a point-of-sale (POS) terminal to a guestdevice to allow for concurrent display of the transaction on both thePOS terminal and the guest device, and to allow a guest to provide a tipamount, an optional payment method, and service feedback that alertsmanagement to problems, thus providing significant improvements in thisfield of technology.

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram is presented illustrating atransaction handoff and processing system 100 according to the presentinvention. The system 100 has a backend server 101 that is coupled to aninternet gateway 104 that is disposed within a retail establishment 103.The backend server 101 is not disposed within the establishment 103 andmay be disposed within a network operations center or other location.The backend server 101 is coupled to the gateway 104 via the internetcloud 102 using a combination of conventional wired and wireless linksthat allow for communications between devices over the internet cloud102. The conventional wired links may include, but are not limited to,Ethernet, cable, fiber optic, and digital subscriber line (DSL). As partof the network path to and through the cloud 102, providers of internetconnectivity (e.g., ISPs) may employ wireless technologies from point topoint as well.

The gateway 104 provides for coupling of the server 101 to one or morepoint-of-sale (POS) terminals 107-108 via one or more access points 105.The access points 105 may be coupled to the gateway 106 via wired orwireless links 106. The wired links 106 may include, but are not limitedto, Ethernet networks, local area networks, and etc. The wireless links106 may comprise, but are not limited to, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near fieldcommunications, infrared links, IEEE 802.15.4, Zigbee radio links, andcellular based links (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, 5G), or a combination of thenoted links. The POS terminals 107-108 may be configured differently tocomport with intended function (i.e., seating, order entry, orderfulfillment, payment processing, owner engagement, order feedback,etc.), or they may be configured similarly.

To clearly teach the present invention, two types of POS terminals aredepicted as part of the system: a fixed POS terminal 107 and a mobilePOS terminal 108. The fixed terminal 107 is deemed as such because itgenerally is employed in a fixed location, such as to allow a guest 112to place, pay for, and pick up orders. Though the fixed POS terminal 107is shown in the FIGURE as being coupled wirelessly to the gateway 104via an access point 105, because it is employed in a fixed location itmay alternatively be coupled to the gateway 104 via a wired link. Themobile POS terminal 108 may be employed by wait staff in multiplelocations within the establishment 103 to provide services to a guest109 enabling the guest 109 to place, pay for, and pick up orders. Thoughthe general functions of the two POS terminals 107-108 are substantiallysimilar, the primary difference between their mode of use is thattypically a guest 112 with move to the fixed POS terminal 107 to place,pay for, and pick up orders, where the fixed POS terminal 107 may beattended by staff or may function as a self-serve stand-alone kiosk. Incontrast, wait staff may be in possession of the mobile POS terminal 108and may approach a guest 109 who may be seated at a table, and where thewait staff may employ the mobile POS terminal 108 to place an order onbehalf of the guest. The wait staff may further deliver ordered items tothe guest and accept payment from the guest for the ordered items.

Both of the guests 109, 112 are in possession of respective smartdevices 110, 111 such as, but not limited to, Android phones, iPhones,Android tablets, iPads, and equivalent devices. The smart devices 110,111 may be executing a proprietary application program that correspondsto the retail establishment and that allows the guests 109, 112 toperform of one or more functions associated with processing of theirorders by handing off those functions from the POS terminals 107-108 totheir respective smart devices 111, 110.

As will be described in further detail below, one embodiment of thepresent invention contemplates that a handoff from a POS terminal 107,108 to a smart device 111, 110 is initiated when the guest 112, 109presents a payment instrument (i.e., credit card) and the instrument isentered into system 100 via a conventional credit card reader (swipe,scan, or tap) that is part of the terminal 107, 108. Another embodimentof the present invention comprehends that a handoff from a POS terminal107, 108 to a smart device 111, 110 is initiated when the guest 112, 109accepts a transaction token that is provided by or directly on the POSterminal 107, 108. Once a handoff to the smart device 111, 110 isperformed, the remainder of the transaction is conducted bycommunications between the backend server 101, the smart device 111,110, and the POS terminal 107, 108. In one embodiment, the remainder ofthe transaction may include synchronous display on the smart device 111,110 of what is being displayed on the POS terminal 107, 108 (so called,“guest facing display) and entry of tip amount, alternative paymentinstruments, and order feedback/comments via the smart device 111, 110.In a further embodiment, the system 100 may be configured to providealerts and action options to management of the establishment 103 when atip falls below a configured threshold percentage and/or when negativefeedback is provided via the smart device 111, 110.

Advantageously, the system 100 according to the present inventionprovides technological improvements to this field of the art by enablingestablishments 103 to provide “guest facing displays” that are mandatedby state law without requiring establishment owners to purchaseadditional register displays. In addition, the system 100 provides amechanism whereby a guest 112, 109 may provide a tip amount, alternatepayment instrument, and feedback on service more privately than hasotherwise been heretofore provided. For some guests 112, 109 that may bedisinclined to handle publicly available terminals 107, 108, the system100 according to the present invention provides for completion andpayment for their orders through use of their own personal smart device111, 110. Moreover, notable processing speed improvements to this fieldof technology are provided for by the present invention because waitstaff may attend to other functions rather than waiting for a guest 112,109 to enter data on their respective POS terminals 107, 108.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram is presented depicting a backendserver 200 according to the present invention, such as the backendserver 101 of FIG. 1. The backend server 200 may be embodied as acentral processing unit (CPU) 201 that is coupled to a memory 206 havingboth transitory and non-transitory memory components therein. The CPU201 is also coupled to a communications circuit 202 that coupled thebackend server 200 to the internet cloud via one or more wired and/orwireless links 203 as are discussed above. The backend server 200 mayalso comprise input/output circuits 205 that include, but are notlimited to, data entry and display devices (e.g., keyboards, monitors,touchpads, etc.). The memory 206 may be coupled to a payment tokendatabase 216 and to a loyalty token database 217. In one embodiment, thepayment token database 216 and loyalty token database 217 are disposedin the same location as the memory 206. In another embodiment, thepayment token database 216 and loyalty token database 217 are notdisposed in the same location as the memory 206 and are accessed viamessages transmitted and received over the links 203 rather than bydirect connection as shown in the diagram.

The memory 206 may include an operating system 207 such as, but notlimited to, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Unix, and Linux, where theoperating system 207 is configured to manage execution by the CPU 201 ofprogram instructions that are part of components of one or moreapplication programs. In one embodiment, a single application programcomprises a plurality of code segments 208-215 resident in the memory206 and identified as a synchronization process (SYNC) 208, an orderinitiation process (ORDER INIT) 209, a web services process (WEB SERV)210, a configuration process (CONFIG) 211, a handoff process (HANDOFF)212, a transaction process (TRANSACTION) 213, a feedback process(FEEDBACK) 214, and a guest interface process (GUEST INTERFACE) 215.

Operationally, the backend server 200 may execute one or more of thecode segments 208-215 as required to enable POS terminals in a retailestablishment to initiate orders on behalf of guests, to synchronize anorder taken by one POS terminal with other POS terminals in theestablishment, to route orders for processing and fulfillment, toprocess payments, to perform handoff of a transaction to a guest device,to simultaneously transmit POS display data to the guest device, toreceive data provided by the guest device for transaction completion andfeedback, and to transmit negative feedback and actions to designatedPOS terminals in the establishment for prompt management attention.

The payment token database 216 comprises a plurality of payment recordsthat each link a payment token to a particular smart device, where thesmart device has been employed via a proprietary application executingthereon to register guest information and a payment instrument with theestablishment. The guest information may comprise a credit card numberand guest name. Once registered, the guest information is encoded into apayment record comprising a unique and secure payment token and anidentifier for the linked smart device. Accordingly, when a guest at theestablishment provides a payment instrument that comprises the creditcard number and guest name, a corresponding payment token is retrievedfrom the payment token database 216 along with an identifier for acorresponding smart device. In one embodiment, a single payment tokenmay be linked to more than one smart device, e.g., a smart phone andsmart tablet. In one embodiment, when a guest employs the proprietaryapplication to register, push notifications may also be enabled as partof the registration process, thus enabling the backend server 200 tosend push notifications to a linked smart device.

The loyalty token database 217 comprises a plurality of loyalty recordsthat each link a loyalty account identifier to one or more fields ofcontact information for a guest who has created a loyalty account withthe establishment either via a web browser coupled to the backend server200 or directly from the proprietary application executing on theirsmart device. The loyalty records may include a payment token along withone or more of the following fields: smart device identification, guestname, guest email address, guest number for text messages, and otheridentifiers for direct messaging (e.g., Facebook Messenger). In oneembodiment, during registration a guest may opt to allow pushnotifications to their smart device from the backend server 200.

Accordingly, when a guest at the establishment employs the proprietaryapplication on their smart device to accept a transaction token providedby a POS terminal, the loyalty token is retrieved from the loyalty tokendatabase 217 along with an identifier for the smart device, thusenabling push notifications to be transmitted to the smart device thatmay include simultaneous display of transaction information on both thePOS terminal and the smart device, options for tip and paymentinstrument, and feedback on service. For guests that have not enabledpush notifications, no unique device identifier is registered in theloyalty database 217; however, one or more of the other contact fields(e.g., email, text message number, etc.) may be employed by the backendserver 200 to transmit a browser link to the guest via a correspondingtransmission medium (e.g., email, SMS message, Facebook message, etc.).Upon selection of the browser link on a smart device, the smart device'sbrowser is redirected to a web page generated by the guest interfacecomponent 215 within the backend server that enables the guest toperform the same functions as discussed above to monitor and completethe transaction, yet from within a browser environment rather than theproprietary application. Further details of each of the code segments208-215 will be discussed below.

Now referring to FIG. 3, a block diagram is presented featuring apoint-of-sale terminal 300 according to the present invention. Theterminal 300 may be embodied as either a fixed terminal 107 or a mobileterminal 108 as is discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, thedifferences being generally size of the terminal 300 and connection(wired or wireless) to the gateway 104. Generally, a fixed terminal 107is larger in size than a mobile terminal 108 and the mobile terminal 108is sized so that it can be easily carried by wait staff.

The terminal 300 may be embodied as a central processing unit (CPU) 301that is coupled to a memory 306 having both transitory andnon-transitory memory components therein. The CPU 301 is also coupled toa communications circuit 302 that couples the terminal 300 to a gateway104 within the establishment via one or more wired and/or wireless links303 as are discussed above. Through these links 303, the terminal 300along with other terminals in the establishment may directlycommunicated with the backend server 200. No on-premise local server isrequired to perform any point-of-sale function within the establishmentas all synchronization functions are performed through messagesexchanged between the backend server 200 and the terminal 300. Theterminal 300 may comprise a touchscreen 304 that allows for order entry,display of menu items, and related functions. The terminal 300 may alsocomprise input/output circuits 205 that include, but are not limited to,data entry and display devices (e.g., keyboards, monitors, touchpads,scanners, printers, etc.). The terminal 300 may further comprise acredit card entry interface 315 that staff may employ to enter creditcard payment data into the system. In one embodiment, the interface 315comprises a conventional credit card reader that may provide for entryof credit card data via magnetic strip swipe, EMV chip reading (“dip”),or reading of encoded data via near field communications (“tap”). Theinterface 315 may be capable of one or more of the aforementionedmechanisms for reading credit card data. In one embodiment, the creditcard interface 315 may be integrated into the same housing as thetouchscreen 304.

The memory 306 may include an operating system 307 such as, but notlimited to, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Unix, and Linux, where theoperating system 307 is configured to manage execution by the CPU 301 ofprogram instructions that are part of components of one or moreapplication programs. In one embodiment, a single application programcomprises a plurality of code segments 308-310, 312-314 resident in thememory 306 and identified as a synchronization process (SYNC) 308, anorder initiation process (ORDER INIT) 309, a configuration process(CONFIG) 310, a handoff process (HANDOFF) 312, a transaction process(TRANSACTION) 313, and a feedback process (FEEDBACK) 314. Other codesegments (not shown) may be provided to perform other point-of-salefunctions by the terminal 300 (e.g., printing of receipts, entry of giftcards, etc.) which are not discussed herein in order to clearly teachaspects of the present invention.

Operationally, the terminal 300 may execute one or more of the codesegments 208-215 as required to enable guests or wait staff in a retailestablishment to initiate orders; to communicate orders to the backendserver; to receive communications from the backend server thatsynchronize an order taken by one POS terminal 300 with other POSterminals 300 in the establishment; to obtain payment instruments; tocommunicate payment data to the backend server for authorization; toprovide for entry of tip amounts and order feedback from guests; todisplay or print a transaction token for presentation to a guest; uponacceptance of the transaction token by a device corresponding to theguest, to coordinate handoff of a corresponding transaction to a guestdevice with the backend server; and to receive communications from thebackend server indicating completion of the transaction.

The configuration process 310 may be employed upon power up of theterminal 300 to configure the terminal 300 for a specific function suchas a seating terminal, a self-serve kiosk, an orderprocessing/fulfillment terminal, an expediter terminal, or a managementfeedback and action terminal.

Operationally, the order initiation process 309 may execute to allow fordisplay and entry of a guest order. As the order is entered, it istransmitted to the backend server via messages over the links 303. Thesynchronization process 308 is executed to and works in conjunction withthe synchronization process 208 in the back end server maintainpersistent and durable states of all orders within the establishment,even though those orders may have been entered on other terminals 300.Advantageously, this allows any terminal 300 within the establishment tomodify and close out an existing order. In addition, thissynchronization enables multiple terminals 300 to be employed to processa single order, say for a table of 20 guests, thus significantlyimproving the time required to enter and fulfill orders.

To close out an order, the transaction process 313 may be executed toprovide for display of order details and subtotals, and to provide fordirect entry of payment by a guest. If payment is by credit card, thecard data may be entered via the credit card interface and transmittedvia the links 303 to the transaction process 213 within the backendserver 200. The backend server 200 may then access the payment tokendatabase 216 to obtain a payment token and linked smart deviceidentifier corresponding to the entered credit card data. If enabled,the backend server 200 then transmits a push notification to the smartdevice(s) associated with the smart device identifier that notifies theguest that the transaction can be completed on their smart device. Ifaccepted, then the backend server executes that handoff process 212which notifies the handoff process 312 in the terminal 300 that thetransaction is being completed via the guest's smart device and alsoexecutes the guest interface process 215 to format and transmit contentto the guest device that shows details necessary to complete thetransaction (e.g., ordered items, subtotal, tax, tip entry field,signature field, etc.). At this point, the terminal 300 is essentiallyfree to be used for other purposes because communications to completethe transaction are now between the guest's smart device and the backendserver 200. The guest interface process 215 may also be employed toreceive data entered by the guest such as tip amount, signature, andfeedback on the order. All of the data displayed and entered on theguest's smart device occurs while running the proprietary applicationprogram linked to the establishment. Therein, in one embodiment, theguest may change payment instruments to any instrument (e.g., gift card,PayPal, Apple Wallet) that may be registered with the system. In oneembodiment, the system may treat a registered loyalty card in exactlythe same manner as a credit card for purposes of handoff and selectionof payment instrument within the proprietary application program.

In the above embodiments, presentation of a registered credit card orloyalty card is what initiates a handoff from the terminal 300 to acorresponding guest smart device. However, the present inventioncontemplates other mechanisms for initiating a handoff. In oneembodiment, the handoff process 312 may execute to generate atransaction token that is directly displayed on the touchscreen 304 orthat may be printed out, where the guest may employ their smart deviceto accept the token and upon acceptance of the token, handoff isperfected by launching the proprietary application on the guest's smartdevice and performing the functions described above to complete thetransaction. In another embodiment, the handoff process 312 may alsoexecute to generate a transaction token that is directly displayed onthe touchscreen 304 or that may be printed out, where the guest mayemploy their smart device to accept the token and upon acceptance of thetoken, handoff is perfected by launching a browser window on the guest'ssmart device and performing the functions described above to completethe transaction. Control of content of the browser window is performedby execution of the web services process 210 within the backend server.This browser-based handoff embodiment is utilized when a guest does nothave the proprietary application installed on their smart device.

In a further embodiment, a guest may have the proprietary applicationinstalled on their smart device but may have not enabled pushnotifications. However, if a suitable form of contact information islinked within the loyalty database 217, the backend server 200 mayemploy an alternative communication method to send a link to otherapplications executing on the guest's smart device such as, but notlimited to, email, SMS messaging, and Facebook Messenger. When the guestaccepts the link, the proprietary application is launched, andtransaction handoff is performed as discussed above. If the proprietaryapplication is not installed on the guest device, when the guest acceptsthe link, a browser-based handoff is performed for completion of thetransaction.

In a preferred embodiment, the handoff process 212 in the backend serverexecutes to send a transaction token to the terminal 300. The handoffprocess 312 in the terminal 300 executes to display the transactiontoken directly or to print the token on paper or it may be displayed asa sticker/poster adjacent to the terminal 300 for acceptance by theguest's smart device. In one embodiment, the transaction token comprisesa QR code that may be read by a conventional QR code reader executing onthe guest's smart device. Another embodiment contemplates a bar codethat is read by a conventional bar code reader on the guest's smartdevice. In one embodiment, the transaction token is unique to thetransaction. In another embodiment, the transaction token is static(i.e., the same for all transactions) and the system 200 is configuredto associate that transaction token with a current transaction beingprocessed when the transaction token is accepted by the guest's smartdevice.

Now turning to FIG. 4, a diagram is presented showing an exemplaryhandoff display on a point-of-sale terminal 400. The terminal 400 maycomprise a housing 401 and touchscreen display 402 such as an iPad orAndroid tablet. The display 402 may comprise an order number area 402.1that displays an identifier (“12579”) for a transaction. The display 402may additionally comprise a transaction details area 402.2 that displaysitems corresponding to the transaction identifier, quantity ordered,price of the items, along with a subtotal amount and entry areas for tipand guest authorization signature. Upon entry of a tip amount by a guestor wait staff, the terminal 400 may calculate the total.

The display 402 also has a transaction token display area 402.3 thatshows a transaction token 403 corresponding to the transactionidentifier for presentation to the guest. Upon acceptance of the tokenby the guest's smart device, or via credit card or loyalty card swipe asdiscussed above, the terminal 400 notifies the backend server 200 thathandoff is accepted, and the backend server 200 then operates totransmit a version of the transaction details area 402.2 to the guest'ssmart device that is formatted for display thereon, either within theproprietary application executing on the guest's smart device or withina web browser on the guest's device. As noted above, handoff of thetransaction to the guest's smart device may be prompted by reading acredit card or loyalty card or by acceptance of the transaction token403.

The present invention also comprehends handoff of other items fordisplay and data entry on the guest's smart device such as, but notlimited to, feedback scoring and comments on the order by the guest. Inone embodiment, feedback scoring may be simply a “thumbs up” or “thumbsdown” selection by the guest. In another embodiment, a star rating scalemay be presented.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a diagram is presented illustrating anexemplary feedback action display on a point-of-sale terminal 500according to the present invention that is configured for managementaccess. As discussed above, the configuration process 310 in theterminal 300 may execute in conjunction with the configuration process211 in the backend server 200 in the terminal upon power up of theterminal 300 to configure it for use as a management feedback and actionterminal. Accordingly, the terminal 500 may comprise a housing 501 andtouchscreen display 502 such as an iPad or Android tablet. The display502 may comprise an identification and authorization display area 502.1along with a photo area 502.2 that identifies a staff person that isauthorized to receive guest feedback and take alleviation actions toincrease customer satisfaction and loyalty. Accordingly, the display 502may additionally comprise a guest feedback summary area 502.3 that showsguest feedback for current orders in the establishment. The feedbackarea 502.3 shows scoring (thumbs up/down), tip threshold indication, andentered guest notes along with a management action control ACT. As notedabove, the feedback process 214 in the backend server 200 may determinethat a tip amount provided on a transaction falls below a prescribedpercentage threshold, for example, a tip of less than ten percent. Notethat orders 22 and 26 received a tip entry that exceeds the percentagethreshold, but the tip amount entered for order 63 is less than theprescribed threshold. Though the tip amount for order 26 issatisfactory, note that the guest entered a thumbs down score andfurther noted that the wrong items were delivered. Upon actuating andACT control for order 26, management options are shown in a managementoptions area 502.4. In addition to visiting the unsatisfied guests, ifthey are still in the establishment, the manager has opted to provide adiscount coupon for deliver to the guest. This coupon may be pushed tothe guest's smart device via push notification, email, SMS message, ormay be directly placed in the proprietary application executing on theguest's smart device.

As alluded to above, guests are often reluctant to provide candidfeedback in the form of comments, scores, or tip amounts when a staffperson is watching and waiting. Advantageously, because transactioncompletion is handed off to guest devices according to the presentinvention, not only is a mechanism provided for more truthful anddetailed feedback, but the feedback process 214 in the backend serverallows for instantaneous alert of management via communications throughthe internet cloud.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram 600 is presented detailing amethod for handoff of a transaction from a point-of-sale terminal to aguest device, where the handoff is triggered upon entry of credit cardpayment data. Flow begins at block 601 when a guest downloads andinstalls a proprietary application corresponding to a retailestablishment on a smart device that belongs to the guest. Flow thenproceeds to block 602.

At block 602, the guest executes that proprietary application on thesmart device and the application prompts the guest to enter registrationinformation such as, but not limited to, name, email address, phonenumber for text messaging, and other forms of contact information (e.g.,Facebook Messenger address). The registration information is thentransmitted by the proprietary application through the cloud to thebackend server 200, which creates a loyalty token for the guest andstores a corresponding loyalty record in the loyalty database 217. Flowthen proceeds to block 603.

At block 603, the guest is prompted by the proprietary application toenter one or more methods of payment such as a credit card number orgift card number(s). The one or more methods of payment are thentransmitted by the proprietary application through the cloud to thebackend server 200, which creates an encoded payment token for the guestand stores the payment token in the previously created correspondingloyalty record in the loyalty database 217. Flow then proceeds to block604.

At block 604, the guest is prompted by the proprietary application toenable push notifications to the guest's smart device. Acceptance ofenablement is transmitted by the proprietary application through thecloud to the backend server 200, which creates a payment token record inthe payment database 216 that includes the previously encoded paymenttoken for the guest along with the unique device identifier for pushingnotifications to the guest's smart device. Flow then proceeds to block605.

At block 605, the guest may place an order for goods either through theproprietary application, via a web page maintained by the web servicescomponent 210, within the retail establishment on a self-service kiosk300, via a third-party application (e.g., Door Dash or Grubhub) that iscoupled to the backend server 200, or wait staff at the establishmentmay enter the order directly via the touchscreen 304 into a fixed ormobile point-of-sale terminal 300. If entered on a terminal 300, theorder initiation component 309 creates an order number and communicatesdetails of the order to the backend server 200. The synchronizationcomponent 208 then transmits the order number and details of the orderto remaining terminals 300 in the establishment. If entered through theproprietary application or a third-party application, then the orderinitiation component 209 in the backend server creates an order numberalong with details of the order and then transmits the order number anddetails of the order to terminals 300 in the establishment. Flow thenproceeds to block 606.

At block 606, following fulfillment of the placed order, the guestpresents a payment instrument that is read by a terminal within theestablishment. Encoded information from the payment instrument is thentransmitted by the transaction component 313 in the terminal 300 to thetransaction component 213 in the backend server. Flow then proceeds toblock 607.

At block 607, the handoff component 212 in the server 200 employs theencoded payment information to accesses a corresponding record in thepayment token database 216 that designates a corresponding pushnotification device identifier. Flow then proceeds to block 608.

At block 608, the handoff component 212 then employs the identifier tosend content to the guest's smart device requesting handoff of thetransaction to the guest device. Flow then proceeds to block 609.

At block 609, the guest accepts handoff by selecting the pushnotification, which wakes up the proprietary application for executionon the guest device. The proprietary application then notifies thehandoff component 212 that handoff has been accepted. Flow then proceedsto block 610.

At block 610, the handoff component 212 passes control to the guestinterface component 215 that transmits content of the transaction,exemplified in the diagram of FIG. 4, that is formatted for display onthe guest device within the proprietary application. Thus, the terminal300 may subsequently be employed to process other orders. Flow thenproceeds to block 611.

At block 611, the guest enters a tip amount and payment authorization(e.g., signature and submission), which is communicated by theproprietary application to the backend server 200. Flow then proceeds toblock 612.

At block 612, the transaction component 213 processes the payment usingthe provided payment instrument and messages terminals 300 in theestablishment and the proprietary application that payment of the ticketis complete. The transaction component 213 may also transmit anelectronic receipt to the proprietary application as a record of thetransaction. The receipt may optionally be stored within the proprietaryapplication for reference. The proprietary application may furtherprovide for export of the receipt. The receipt may optionally be storedwithin the proprietary application for reference. The proprietaryapplication may further provide for export of the receipt. Flow thenproceeds to block 613.

At block 613, the guest interface component 215 then generates andtransmits content to the guest device that allows the guest to providefeedback on the order, as is discussed above. The feedback is thentransmitted by the proprietary application to the feedback component 214of the backend server 200, which determines according to programmedcriteria if management attention to the order is warranted. The feedbackcomponent 214 additionally may access the tip amount entered by theguest and determine if a tip percentage is above or below a thresholdthat is programmed into the system by management. The feedback,indication of acceptable tip percentage, and any notes provided by theguest are then transmitted by the feedback component 214 to a feedbackcomponent 314 in a terminal 300 in the establishment that is configuredfor management access as described above. Accordingly, a managementrepresentative is immediately alerted to guest dissatisfaction and isprovided with options similar to those described with reference to FIG.5 that may assuage the guest and secure continuing loyalty. Flow thenproceeds to block 614.

At block 614, the management representative selects one of the displayedactions or may take another action to address service concerns that wereidentified by the guest in block 613.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow diagram 700 is presented detailing amethod for handoff of a transaction from a point-of-sale terminal to aguest device, where the handoff is triggered upon acceptance of atransaction token. This method is employed for handoff when a guest hasinstalled the proprietary application on their smart device and hasenabled push notifications but has not registered a payment instrument.Flow begins at block 701 when a guest downloads and installs aproprietary application corresponding to a retail establishment on asmart device that belongs to the guest. Flow then proceeds to block 702.

At block 702, the guest executes that proprietary application on thesmart device and the application prompts the guest to enter registrationinformation such as, but not limited to, name, email address, phonenumber for text messaging, and other forms of contact information (e.g.,Facebook Messenger address). The registration information is thentransmitted by the proprietary application through the cloud to thebackend server 200, which creates a loyalty token for the guest andstores a corresponding loyalty record in the loyalty database 217. Flowthen proceeds to block 703.

At block 703, the guest is prompted by the proprietary application toenable push notifications to the guest's smart device. Acceptance ofenablement is transmitted by the proprietary application through thecloud to the backend server 200, which stores a unique identifier forthe guest device in the previously created loyalty record, which will beused to direct push notifications to the guest's smart device. Flow thenproceeds to block 704.

At block 704, the guest may place an order for goods either through theproprietary application, via a web page maintained by the web servicescomponent 210, within the retail establishment on a self-service kiosk300, via a third-party application (e.g., Door Dash or Grubhub) that iscoupled to the backend server 200, or wait staff at the establishmentmay enter the order directly via the touchscreen 304 into a fixed ormobile point-of-sale terminal 300. If entered on a terminal 300, theorder initiation component 309 creates an order number and communicatesdetails of the order to the backend server 200. The synchronizationcomponent 208 then transmits the order number and details of the orderto remaining terminals 300 in the establishment. If entered through theproprietary application or a third-party application, then the orderinitiation component 209 in the backend server creates an order numberalong with details of the order and then transmits the order number anddetails of the order to terminals 300 in the establishment. Flow thenproceeds to block 705.

At block 705, concurrent with fulfillment of the placed order, thebackend server 200 generates a transaction token that corresponds to theplaced order and transmits the token to terminals 300 in theestablishment. When prompted to complete the transaction, acorresponding terminal 300 may display the transaction token on itstouchscreen 304 for acceptance by the guest. Alternatively, thecorresponding terminal 300 may print the transaction token on paper orit may be displayed as a sticker/poster adjacent to the terminal 300 foracceptance by the guest. In one embodiment, the transaction token isunique to the transaction. In another embodiment, the transaction tokenis static (i.e., the same for all transactions) and the system 200 isconfigured to associate that transaction token with a currenttransaction being processed when the transaction token is accepted bythe guest's smart device. Flow then proceeds to block 706.

At block 706, the guest accepts the transaction token by employing anapplication such as a QR code reader or bar code reader. Flow thenproceeds to block 707.

At block 707, it is necessary to access the unique device identifier forpush notifications from the previously created loyalty record. If any ofthe previously registered contact information (e.g., name, emailaddress, SMS text number) was employed to create the order, then thehandoff component 212 may access the record to retrieve the deviceidentifier without intervention. Otherwise, the guest is required toprovide one element of the contact information to a correspondingterminal 300. Via the loyalty record, the handoff component 212 thenassociates the transaction with the device identifier. Flow thenproceeds to block 708.

At block 708, the handoff component 212 in the server 200 employs thedevice identifier to send content (i.e., a push notification) to theguest's smart device requesting handoff of the transaction to the guestdevice. Flow then proceeds to block 709.

At block 709, the guest accepts handoff by selecting the pushnotification, which wakes up the proprietary application for executionon the guest device. The proprietary application then notifies thehandoff component 212 that handoff has been accepted. Flow then proceedsto block 710.

At block 710, the handoff component 212 passes control to the guestinterface component 215 that transmits content of the transaction,exemplified in the diagram of FIG. 4, that is formatted for display onthe guest device within the proprietary application. Thus, the terminal300 may subsequently be employed to process other orders. Flow thenproceeds to block 711.

At block 711, the guest enters a tip amount and payment authorization(e.g., signature and submission), which is communicated by theproprietary application to the backend server 200. Flow then proceeds toblock 712.

At block 712, the transaction component 213 processes the payment usingthe provided payment instrument and messages terminals 300 in theestablishment and the proprietary application that payment of the ticketis complete. The transaction component 213 may also transmit anelectronic receipt to the proprietary application as a record of thetransaction. The receipt may optionally be stored within the proprietaryapplication for reference. The proprietary application may furtherprovide for export of the receipt. Flow then proceeds to block 713.

At block 713, the guest interface component 215 then generates andtransmits content to the guest device that allows the guest to providefeedback on the order, as is discussed above. The feedback is thentransmitted by the proprietary application to the feedback component 214of the backend server 200, which determines according to programmedcriteria if management attention to the order is warranted. The feedbackcomponent 214 additionally may access the tip amount entered by theguest and determine if a tip percentage is above or below a thresholdthat is programmed into the system by management. The feedback,indication of acceptable tip percentage, and any notes provided by theguest are then transmitted by the feedback component 214 to a feedbackcomponent 314 in a terminal 300 in the establishment that is configuredfor management access as described above. Accordingly, a managementrepresentative is immediately alerted to guest dissatisfaction and isprovided with options similar to those described with reference to FIG.5 that may assuage the guest and secure continuing loyalty. Flow thenproceeds to block 714.

At block 714, the management representative selects one of the displayedactions or may take another action to address service concerns that wereidentified by the guest in block 713.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flow diagram 800 is presented detailinganother method for handoff of a transaction from a point-of-saleterminal to a guest device, where the handoff is triggered uponacceptance of a transaction token. This method is employed when a guesthas the proprietary application installed on their device but has notregistered a payment instrument nor enabled push notifications. Flowbegins at block 801 when a guest downloads and installs a proprietaryapplication corresponding to a retail establishment on a smart devicethat belongs to the guest. Flow then proceeds to block 802.

At block 802, the guest executes that proprietary application on thesmart device and the application prompts the guest to enter registrationinformation such as, but not limited to, name, email address, phonenumber for text messaging, and other forms of contact information (e.g.,Facebook Messenger address). The registration information is thentransmitted by the proprietary application through the cloud to thebackend server 200, which creates a loyalty token for the guest andstores a corresponding loyalty record in the loyalty database 217. Flowthen proceeds to block 803.

At block 803, the guest may place an order for goods either through theproprietary application, via a web page maintained by the web servicescomponent 210, within the retail establishment on a self-service kiosk300, via a third-party application (e.g., Door Dash or Grubhub) that iscoupled to the backend server 200, or wait staff at the establishmentmay enter the order directly via the touchscreen 304 into a fixed ormobile point-of-sale terminal 300. If entered on a terminal 300, theorder initiation component 309 creates an order number and communicatesdetails of the order to the backend server 200. The synchronizationcomponent 208 then transmits the order number and details of the orderto remaining terminals 300 in the establishment. If entered through theproprietary application or a third-party application, then the orderinitiation component 209 in the backend server creates an order numberalong with details of the order and then transmits the order number anddetails of the order to terminals 300 in the establishment. Flow thenproceeds to block 804.

At block 804, concurrent with fulfillment of the placed order, thebackend server 200 generates a transaction token that corresponds to theplaced order and transmits the token to terminals 300 in theestablishment. When prompted to complete the transaction, acorresponding terminal 300 may display the transaction token on itstouchscreen 304 for acceptance by the guest. Alternatively, thecorresponding terminal 300 may print the transaction token on paper foracceptance by the guest. In one embodiment, the transaction token isunique to the transaction. In another embodiment, the transaction tokenis static (i.e., the same for all transactions) and the system 200 isconfigured to associate that transaction token with a currenttransaction being processed when the transaction token is accepted bythe guest's smart device. Flow then proceeds to block 805.

At block 805, the guest accepts the transaction token by employing anapplication such as a QR code reader or bar code reader. Flow thenproceeds to block 806.

At block 806, because push notifications are not enabled, it isnecessary to access the previously created loyalty record to determinean alternative form of contacting the guest device. If any of thepreviously registered contact information (e.g., name, email address,SMS text number) was employed to create the order, then the handoffcomponent 212 may employ one of the contact addresses to send a messageto the guest device via a channel other than a push notification.Otherwise, the guest is required to provide one element of the contactinformation to a corresponding terminal 300. In one embodiment, channelsare employed in the following priority order: SMS message, emailmessage, other messaging application. Via the loyalty record, thehandoff component 212 then associates the transaction with aselected/provided contact address. Flow then proceeds to block 807.

At block 807, the handoff component 212 in the server 200 employs thedevice identifier to send content (e.g., SMS message, email, othermessage) to the guest's smart device requesting handoff of thetransaction to the guest device. Flow then proceeds to block 808.

At block 808, the guest accepts handoff by a link in the receivedcontent, which wakes up the proprietary application for execution on theguest device. The proprietary application then notifies the handoffcomponent 212 that handoff has been accepted. Flow then proceeds toblock 809.

At block 809, the handoff component 212 passes control to the guestinterface component 215 that transmits content of the transaction,exemplified in the diagram of FIG. 4, that is formatted for display onthe guest device within the proprietary application. Thus, the terminal300 may subsequently be employed to process other orders. Flow thenproceeds to block 810.

At block 810, the guest enters a tip amount and payment authorization(e.g., signature and submission), which is communicated by theproprietary application to the backend server 200. Flow then proceeds toblock 811.

At block 811, the transaction component 213 processes the payment usingthe provided payment instrument and messages terminals 300 in theestablishment and the proprietary application that payment of the ticketis complete. The transaction component 213 may also transmit anelectronic receipt to the proprietary application as a record of thetransaction. The receipt may optionally be stored within the proprietaryapplication for reference. The proprietary application may furtherprovide for export of the receipt. Flow then proceeds to block 812.

At block 812, the guest interface component 215 then generates andtransmits content to the guest device that allows the guest to providefeedback on the order, as is discussed above. The feedback is thentransmitted by the proprietary application to the feedback component 214of the backend server 200, which determines according to programmedcriteria if management attention to the order is warranted. The feedbackcomponent 214 additionally may access the tip amount entered by theguest and determine if a tip percentage is above or below a thresholdthat is programmed into the system by management. The feedback,indication of acceptable tip percentage, and any notes provided by theguest are then transmitted by the feedback component 214 to a feedbackcomponent 314 in a terminal 300 in the establishment that is configuredfor management access as described above. Accordingly, a managementrepresentative is immediately alerted to guest dissatisfaction and isprovided with options similar to those described with reference to FIG.5 that may assuage the guest and secure continuing loyalty. Flow thenproceeds to block 813.

At block 813, the management representative selects one of the displayedactions or may take another action to address service concerns that wereidentified by the guest in block 812.

Finally turning to FIG. 9, a flow diagram 900 is presented showing afurther method for a browser-based handoff of a transaction from apoint-of-sale terminal to a guest device, where the handoff is triggeredupon acceptance of a transaction token. This method is employed when aguest registered a loyalty account with the establishment but has notinstalled the proprietary application on their smart device. Flow beginsat block 801 when a guest accesses a web page for the establishment ontheir smart device web browser or a web browser from another source(e.g., desktop computer, laptop computer, etc.) that prompts the guestto enter registration information such as, but not limited to, name,email address, phone number for text messaging, and other forms ofcontact information (e.g., Facebook Messenger address). The registrationinformation is then transmitted from the browser through the cloud tothe backend server 200, which creates a loyalty token for the guest andstores a corresponding loyalty record in the loyalty database 217. Flowthen proceeds to block 902.

At block 902, the guest may place an order for goods either via a webpage maintained by the web services component 210, within the retailestablishment on a self-service kiosk 300, via a third-party application(e.g., Door Dash or Grubhub) that is coupled to the backend server 200,or wait staff at the establishment may enter the order directly via thetouchscreen 304 into a fixed or mobile point-of-sale terminal 300. Ifentered on a terminal 300, the order initiation component 309 creates anorder number and communicates details of the order to the backend server200. The synchronization component 208 then transmits the order numberand details of the order to remaining terminals 300 in theestablishment. If entered through a third-party application, then theorder initiation component 209 in the backend server creates an ordernumber along with details of the order and then transmits the ordernumber and details of the order to terminals 300 in the establishment.Flow then proceeds to block 903.

At block 903, concurrent with fulfillment of the placed order, thebackend server 200 generates a transaction token that corresponds to theplaced order and transmits the token to terminals 300 in theestablishment. When prompted to complete the transaction, acorresponding terminal 300 may display the transaction token on itstouchscreen 304 for acceptance by the guest. Alternatively, thecorresponding terminal 300 may print the transaction token on paper orit may be displayed as a sticker/poster adjacent to the terminal 300 foracceptance by the guest. In one embodiment, the transaction token isunique to the transaction. In another embodiment, the transaction tokenis static (i.e., the same for all transactions) and the system 200 isconfigured to associate that transaction token with a currenttransaction being processed when the transaction token is accepted bythe guest's smart device. Flow then proceeds to block 904.

At block 904, the guest accepts the transaction token by employing anapplication such as a QR code reader or bar code reader that is residenton their smart device. Flow then proceeds to block 905.

At block 905, because the proprietary application is not installed onthe guest's smart device, it is necessary to access the previouslycreated loyalty record to determine an alternative form of contactingthe guest device. If any of the previously registered contactinformation (e.g., name, email address, SMS text number) was employed tocreate the order, then the handoff component 212 may employ one of thecontact addresses to send a message to the guest device via a channelother than a push notification. Otherwise, the guest is required toprovide one element of the contact information to a correspondingterminal 300. In one embodiment, channels are employed in the followingpriority order: SMS message, email message, other messaging application.Via the loyalty record, the handoff component 212 then associates thetransaction with a selected/provided contact address. Flow then proceedsto block 906.

At block 906, the handoff component 212 in the server 200 employs thedevice identifier to send content (e.g., SMS message, email, othermessage) to the guest's smart device requesting handoff of thetransaction to the guest device. Flow then proceeds to block 907.

At block 907, the guest accepts handoff by a link in the receivedcontent, which redirects a browser on the guest device to a handoff webpage provided by web services component 210. The web services component210 then notifies the handoff component 212 that handoff has beenaccepted. Flow then proceeds to block 908.

At block 908, the handoff component 212 passes control to the guestinterface component 215 that transmits content of the transaction,exemplified in the diagram of FIG. 4, that is formatted for display viathe browser on the guest device. Thus, the terminal 300 may subsequentlybe employed to process other orders. Flow then proceeds to block 909.

At block 909, the guest enters a tip amount and payment authorization(e.g., signature and submission), which is communicated by the browserto the backend server 200. Flow then proceeds to block 910.

At block 910, the transaction component 213 processes the payment usingthe provided payment instrument and messages terminals 300 in theestablishment and the proprietary application that payment of the ticketis complete. The transaction component 213 may also transmit anelectronic receipt to the proprietary application as a record of thetransaction. The receipt may optionally be stored within the proprietaryapplication for reference. The proprietary application may furtherprovide for export of the receipt. Flow then proceeds to block 911.

At block 911, the guest interface component 215 then generates andtransmits content to the guest device browser that allows the guest toprovide feedback on the order, as is discussed above. The feedback isthen transmitted to the feedback component 214 of the backend server200, which determines according to programmed criteria if managementattention to the order is warranted. The feedback component 214additionally may access the tip amount entered by the guest anddetermine if a tip percentage is above or below a threshold that isprogrammed into the system by management. The feedback, indication ofacceptable tip percentage, and any notes provided by the guest are thentransmitted by the feedback component 214 to a feedback component 314 ina terminal 300 in the establishment that is configured for managementaccess as described above. Accordingly, a management representative isimmediately alerted to guest dissatisfaction and is provided withoptions similar to those described with reference to FIG. 5 that mayassuage the guest and secure continuing loyalty. Flow then proceeds toblock 912.

At block 912, the management representative selects one of the displayedactions or may take another action to address service concerns that wereidentified by the guest in block 911.

Portions of the present invention and corresponding detailed descriptionare presented in terms of software or algorithms, and symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits within a computer memory.These descriptions and representations are the ones by which those ofordinary skill in the art effectively convey the substance of their workto others of ordinary skill in the art. An algorithm, as the term isused here, and as it is used generally, is conceived to be aself-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The stepsare those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofoptical, electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the discussion,terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, a microprocessor, a central processingunit, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates andtransforms data represented as physical, electronic quantities withinthe computer system's registers and memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer system memoriesor registers or other such information storage, transmission or displaydevices.

Note also that the software implemented aspects of the invention aretypically encoded on some form of program storage medium or implementedover some type of transmission medium. The program storage medium may beelectronic (e.g., read only memory, flash read only memory, electricallyprogrammable read only memory), random access memory magnetic (e.g., afloppy disk or a hard drive) or optical (e.g., a compact disk read onlymemory, or “CD ROM”), and may be read only or random access. Similarly,the transmission medium may be metal traces, twisted wire pairs, coaxialcable, optical fiber, or some other suitable transmission medium knownto the art. The invention is not limited by these aspects of any givenimplementation.

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, andthose skilled in the art will appreciate that they can readily use thedisclosed conception and specific embodiments as a basis for designingor modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of thepresent invention, and that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the scope of theinvention as set forth by the appended claims. For example,components/elements of the systems and/or apparatuses may be integratedor separated. In addition, the operation of the systems and apparatusesdisclosed herein may be performed by more, fewer, or other componentsand the methods described may include more, fewer, or other steps.Additionally, unless otherwise specified steps may be performed in anysuitable order.

Although specific advantages have been enumerated above, variousembodiments may include some, none, or all of the enumerated advantages.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for handing off a transaction forcompletion, the method comprising: via a point-of-sale terminal,receiving a transaction token that corresponds to the transaction, thetransaction token having been transmitted by a backend server over theInternet through a gateway device that is collocated with thepoint-of-sale terminal, and presenting the transaction token foracceptance by a guest smart device; via the guest smart device,accepting the transaction token; accessing contact information on thebackend server corresponding to the transaction and transmitting amessage to the guest smart device over a channel corresponding to acontact address within the contact information, wherein the messagecomprises a link that when activated by a user of the quest smart deviceredirects a web browser on the guest smart device to a handoff web pagethat displays content of the transaction and that enables transactioncompletion information to be entered that is transmitted to the backendserver; and receiving a notification that the transaction is complete,the notification having been transmitted by the backend server over theInternet through the gateway device.
 2. The method as recited in claim1, wherein the transaction token comprises a QR code and whereinacceptance of the transaction token by the guest smart device comprisesscanning the QR code using a QR code reading application executing onthe guest smart device.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein thetransaction token comprises a bar code and wherein acceptance of thetransaction token by the guest smart device comprises scanning the barcode using a bar code reading application executing on the guest smartdevice.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the guest smartdevice comprises a smart phone.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the guest smart device comprises a smart tablet.
 6. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein the transaction completion data comprisesa tip amount and a feedback score.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6,wherein the backend server is not collocated with the point-of-saleterminal, and wherein the backend server communicates directly with theweb browser to transmit details of the transaction for display on theguest smart device, to receive the transaction completion details, andto transmit notice that the transaction is complete.
 8. Acomputer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that, whenexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to perform method for handingoff a transaction for completion, the method comprising: via apoint-of-sale terminal, receiving a transaction token that correspondsto the transaction, the transaction token having been transmitted by abackend server over the Internet through a gateway device that iscollocated with the point-of-sale terminal, and presenting thetransaction token for acceptance by a guest smart device; via the guestsmart device, accepting the transaction token; accessing contactinformation on the backend server corresponding to the transaction andtransmitting a message to the guest smart device over a channelcorresponding to a contact address within the contact information,wherein the message comprises a link that when activated by a user ofthe quest smart device redirects a web browser on the guest smart deviceto a handoff web page that displays content of the transaction and thatenables transaction completion information to be entered that istransmitted to the backend server; and receiving a notification that thetransaction is complete, the notification having been transmitted by thebackend server over the Internet through the gateway device.
 9. Thecomputer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein thetransaction token comprises a QR code and wherein acceptance of thetransaction token by the guest smart device comprises scanning the QRcode using a QR code reading application executing on the guest smartdevice.
 10. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8,wherein the transaction token comprises a bar code and whereinacceptance of the transaction token by the guest smart device comprisesscanning the bar code using a bar code reading application executing onthe guest smart device.
 11. The computer-readable storage medium asrecited in claim 8, wherein the guest smart device comprises a smartphone.
 12. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8,wherein the guest smart device comprises a smart tablet.
 13. Thecomputer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein thetransaction completion data comprises a tip amount and a feedback score.14. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 13, whereinthe web browser is redirected to the backend server that is notcollocated with the point-of-sale terminal, and wherein the backendserver communicates directly with the web browser to transmit details ofthe transaction for display on the guest smart device, to receive thetransaction completion details, and to transmit notice that thetransaction is complete.
 15. A system for handing off a transaction forcompletion, the system comprising: a point-of-sale terminal, configuredto receive a transaction token that corresponds to the transaction, saidtransaction token having been transmitted by a backend server over theInternet through a gateway device that is collocated with saidpoint-of-sale terminal, and configured to receive a notification thatthe transaction is complete, said notification having been transmittedby said backend server over the Internet through said gateway device;said backend server, configured to access contact informationcorresponding to the transaction, and configured to transmit a messageto the guest smart device over a channel corresponding to a contactaddress within the contact information, wherein the message comprises alink to a handoff web page that displays content of the transaction andthat enables transaction completion information to be entered; a webbrowser disposed within a memory of said guest smart device that islaunched upon acceptance of said transaction token by said guest smartdevice, and, upon activation of said link by a user of said quest smartdevice, that is redirected to said handoff web page, and that isconfigured to receive details of the transaction for display on saidguest smart device, and that is configured to enable entry andtransmission of transaction completion details by said user on saidguest smart device, and that is configured to receive notice that thetransaction is complete.
 16. The system as recited in claim 15, whereinsaid transaction token comprises a QR code and wherein acceptance ofsaid transaction token by said guest smart device comprises scanningsaid QR code using a QR code reading application executing on said guestsmart device.
 17. The system as recited in claim 15, wherein saidtransaction token comprises a bar code and wherein acceptance of saidtransaction token by said guest smart device comprises scanning said barcode using a bar code reading application executing on said guest smartdevice.
 18. The system as recited in claim 15, wherein said guest smartdevice comprises a smart phone.
 19. The system as recited in claim 15,wherein said transaction completion data comprises a tip amount and afeedback score.
 20. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein said webbrowser is redirected to said backend server that is not collocated withsaid point-of-sale terminal, and wherein said backend servercommunicates directly with said web browser to transmit said details ofthe transaction for display on the guest smart device, to receive saidtransaction completion details, and to transmit said notice that thetransaction is complete.